The New York Times is tracking the human toll of the conflict in this feature. The primary source is the online video that has allowed a widening war to be documented like no other, and posts try to put the video into context.
Edited by Liam Stack

State media proclaimed the success of days of military exercises, broadcasting images of live-fire drills on land and at sea and declaring, in a message aimed at those advocating intervention, that Syria would "repel any aggression against the homeland."

Syria's state media proclaimed the accuracy of its missile forces on July 11 as it announced the end of live-fire military drills on land and at sea. The display came as Russia, which has opposed foreign intervention in the conflict, moved to dispatch 11 warships to the eastern Mediterranean. State television over the weekend broadcast images of the start of exercises and said, in a message aimed at those advocating intervention, that Syria would "repel any aggression against the homeland."

This video in context

What We Know

A pro-government news site uploaded the report from Syrian state television at the start of drills this week. The announcer praises "our valiant army" as he describes the drills and those overseeing them. SANA, the state news agency, said the exercises ended July 11 with successful missile tests.

What We Don't Know

The timing and location of the state media images could not be independently confirmed, nor could claims about the success of the drills. SANA said the missile troops in particular had shown "their ability to invest the destructive power of their weapons perfectly."